“El IBEX es la Champions League y que estemos en las quinielas es bueno”. Vidrala

Well, for those who are less familiar with Vidrala, it is a consumer packaging company. We manufacture glass containers for food and beverage products. And the truth is that we continue to see demand that is still there. We continue to see support for glass as a packaging material from consumers and our customers. And proof of that are the results we published this morning.

Well, the truth is that Vidrala has a strong commitment to the dividend, and furthermore to the cash dividend. We usually structure our shareholder remuneration policy based on two dividends: one interim in February and another supplementary in July, as just mentioned. And that is complemented in some cases with attendance premiums or other tools we consider interesting depending on business conditions. Basically, share buyback programs or scrip issues. Therefore, if we look back, Vidrala has a history where the dividend has been growing for more than 25 consecutive years, and surely this will continue to be the case because we will be prudent in the annual growth of that dividend. But that prudence will also allow the dividend to grow in a sustainable and sustained manner over time for the future.

Well, effectively what we are doing today is confirming our perspectives for the year 2023, perspectives we announced three months ago on the occasion of the general meeting. And 2024 is probably a transition year. We have had a couple of years, especially 2022, with great inflationary tensions in this industry. That has meant that prices have had to adapt, and probably in 2024 what we should see is a more moderate cost environment. The cost environment is already moderating progressively. That should transparently mean that our prices also adapt downwards in 2024. But we are confident that the plan we have carried out in recent years, in terms of reallocating capacities from locations where we were less competitive to regions where we are more competitive, will allow us to continue generating value for the shareholder, continue improving our results and our business milestones.

Well, this is the big question, the big debate. I was just talking about moderation of prices in 2024. Effectively, that moderation will come as long as it is accompanied by a more moderate cost environment, as I mentioned. On the energy side, we use several tools to protect ourselves. The first and most relevant tool for us are commercial negotiations, some of them structured through price revision formulas that try to reflect the inflation shown in our cost structure. A second element of protection will be our energy hedging policy, which we are also developing little by little. Therefore, our duty is to be well prepared for any scenario, whatever the scenario of energy markets and the particular case of the war in Ukraine.

Well, of course, our duty at this point is also to be prepared. I think it is good news that Vidrala is mentioned when talking about the IBEX. It is the Champions League, if we compare it with the football world. Therefore, that our name appears in the betting pools means that the trading volume has improved, that there is more interest from investors. Probably it will also mean greater scrutiny of the information we publish, higher demands. Well, there are things we are already used to because we have large institutional investors in our shareholder base. But it is a challenge, a motivation. And therefore, if someday it happens, we will take the firm step and be prepared.

Well, we are quite prudent in our style, quite prudent when it comes to issuing opinions on the stock. You said that the stock was correcting today, probably due to the sales volumes we reported in this half of the year, slightly below last year. That does not worry us excessively in the sense that we continue to see solid demand fundamentals. Our business plan is not based on large sales growth but on improving our manufacturing structure and our costs. And therefore, I insist, the stock price will reflect business conditions and our long-term strategy, in which we have confidence.

Thank you for your interest. Good afternoon. Meanwhile, the...